PSEG, United Way debut storm prep website for Long Islanders

With Hurricane Hermine looming as a potential threat to Long Island, local groups debuted a new website Thursday to help residents prepare for disasters and keep them informed during and after any emergency.

BeReadyLI.org is the result of a partnership between PSEG Long Island and the United Way of Long Island, which showed off the site during a news conference at its offices in Deer Park on the first day of September — National Preparedness Month.

The site “compiles, in one place, all of the tools needed to stay safe,” the groups said. It includes guides to types of disasters; educational videos for children; links to a page about power outages; and an interactive quiz that lets people know whether they are well-informed about disaster preparedness and response.

Joined by Grover of “Sesame Street” fame, County Executives Steve Bellone of Suffolk and Edward Mangano of Nassau also attended the news conference. The Sesame Workshop is among the supporters of the website.

The county executives said their emergency response teams were monitoring Hurricane Hermine, which took aim at Florida’s panhandle and northern Gulf Coast Thursday.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement that state workers were also monitoring the storm, and he had ordered state agencies to be prepared.

What the hurricane might ultimately mean for Long Island and the long Labor Day weekend remained a mystery.

“It is a little early to say what the specific impacts will be for the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states,” the National Hurricane Center said in statement Thursday.

The state Office of Emergency Management said it will conduct two training classes this month on Long Island on citizen preparedness for storms and other emergencies.

Classes will take place Thursday, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Brightwaters Public Library, 1 South Country Road, and Sept. 10, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Port Jefferson Village Center, 101 E. Broadway.